Treatment of threads, fabrics, or other materials composed of or containing artificial filaments and product



Patented Aug. 26, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES 'WILFKED PALMER AND STEPHEN MILLER FULTON, OF SPONDON, NEAR DERBY, ENGLAND, 'ASSIGNORS T CEEANESE (IOIlItlPORATION OF AMERICA, A COR- PORATION OF DELAWARE TREATMENT OI THREADS, FABRICS, OR OTHER MATERIALS COMPOSED OF OR CONTAIN- ING ARTIFICIAL FILAMEN'IS AND PRODUCT F0 Drawing. Application filed November 16, 1925, Serial No. 69,525, and in Great Britain May '26, 1925.

, This invention relates to the treatment of threads, knitted, woven or other fabrics or other materials composed of or containing filaments or fibres (hereinafter included in the term filaments) or threads of cellulose acetate, in-which the filaments are in a partially or completely delustred condition, andthe object of the invention is to provide means whereby the lustre maybe restored partially delustred. cellulose acetate oods.

When cellulose acetate artificial silk, and particularly dry-spun cellulose acetate artificial silk made from cellulose acetate solutions of relativel low concentrations, is subjected to the action of certain agenciessuch as hot or boiling acid solutions or solutions of acid salts or hot or boiling water, particularly water between about 90 C. and the boiling point, or moist steam, the cellulose acetate artificial silk can lose its natural high lustre to a greater or less extent and become ments in such converted to a more or less delustred condition.

The application of processes in which such delustring of cellulose acetate artificial silk occurs, for the production of threads or goods showing the cliects of wool, hair or other modified efi'ects, forms the subject of U. S.

Patent No. 1,554,801, according to which lustrous cellulose acetate filaments or threads, or oods containing the same, are subjected to fiieaction of agents whereby the cellulose acetate filaments or fibres are delustred to any desired extent and more or less crinkled. The filaments or fibres of cellulose acetate resulting from such treatment of said patent are in fact hollow filai'nents due probably to the action of the delustrmg and crinking agents'in releasing in or fromthe filaments residual traces of solvent present in the filaments.

The present invention on the other hand concerns the treatment of cellulose acetate artificial silks which have been deprived wholly or partlyv of their natural lustre by the action of delustring agencies, for the purpose of restoring or impartin lustre thereto. he term delustred as used in the specificaor completely to the partialily or completely.

tion and claims includes partially or completely delustred threads, fabrics, etc. of cellulose acetate. The term materials as used in the claims is to be interpreted as including threads, fabrics and other goods.

Some qualities of cellulose acetate artificial silk are much more resistant than others to delustring agencies, the resistance varying concentratedsolutions, containing for example under about 10% or up to about 16 or 18% of cellulose acetate.

Delustring may, however, occur even With very resistant qualities of cellulose acetate artificial silk under prolonged or especially intensive action of said agencies.

Hitherto it has not been possible to restore the lustre to cellulose acetate artificial silk which has become partially or entirely delustred.

The object of the present invention is to rovide means for restoring or imparting ustre completel' or to any desired degree to partially or entirely delustred cellulose acetate filaments or fibres in threads, knitted,

woven or other fabrics or other goods containing them. i

.We have found that by treatment of the threads or other goods composed of or containing such delustred filaments or fibres with solutions of salts,preferably neutral salts,or similarly acting agents, like sugars such .as -cane sugar, the lustre of the'cellulose acetate filaments or fibres can be partially or entirely restored, and that any desired degree of relustring may be obtained according to the salt or body employed, the concentration and temperature of the solution and the duration of the treatment. In practice the conditions of concentration, tern-- perature and duration are adapted together according to the relustring power of the agents used and to the degree to which the lustre is desired to be restored or imparted,

In carrying out the invention the relustrin is preferably performed with'more or less heated or hot or boiling solutions, but we do not limit ourselves in this respect,

' In particular we have found that solutions of ammonium sulphate, sodium sul phate, potassium sulphate, aluminium. sulphate, chromates of potassium, sodium, ammonium or aluminium, chlorides of ammonium, sodium, potassium and calcium and like neutral salts are especially useful for the present invention in concentrations of, for example, about '1 to 5% or more, though we do not limit ourselves to any particular concentrations.

The following examples are given to illustrate how the invention may be carried out, it being understood. that they are given only as examples and in no way as limitative and that the concentrations and other conditions may be varied widely.

Example 1 Cellulose acetate artificial silk in fabric or other form which has become partially or entirely delustred, for instance by steaming for about 10 minutes, is boiled with a 2% to 3% solution of ammonium sulphate in Water or a 1% to 6% solution of sodium sulphate in water, whereby the relustring is graduall effected, The normal lustre can be substantially restored by about 1040 minutes boiling or longer at lower temperatures; the treatment may be stopped at any desired intermediate stage, The goods may be rinsed in water to remove the salt after removal from the bath.

E'wample $2 Cellulose acetate artificial silk in fabric or other form, which has become partially or completely delustred, for instance by boiling with water for about 10 minutes, may be relustred by boiling with an aqueous solution of 3% to 5% strength of ammonium or sodium sulphate. The relustring takes place gradually and can be interrupted at any de sired degree; the lustre can be restored substantially to normal by about 15 to 60 minutes boiling in t'hesolution, or the treatment may be stopped at'any desired intermediate stage. The goods may be rinsed free from salt after the removal from the solution.

Emample 3 Cellulose acetate artificial silk in fabric or other form which has been partially or completely delustred for instance by treatment with oiling water for about 5 minutes or inverse with water at about C. for about 10 minutes may be relustred gradually to any desired extent by heating or boiling with a 5%- 10% cane sugar solution in water; with higher concentrations, lower temperatures may be employed. The lustre can be restored substantially to normal by about 10-20 minutes boiling, or the treatment may be stopped at any desired intermediate stage. The goods may be rinsed free from sugar after removal from the solution.

The threads or other goods composed of or containing the delustred filaments may with advantage be treated with one or more solvents or swelling agents, especially solutions of one or more solvents or swelling agents, at ordinary or only moderately raised temperatures prior to treatment with the solutions before mentioned, especially if the latter are inten'ded to be applied hot or boiling. This is especially of advantage when treating badly delustred material, for instance mixed threads fabrics or goods of cellulose acetate and wool in which the celulose acetate filaments or threads have become badly delustred in finishing or other processes involving exposure for considerable time to moist steam or boiling solutions. Any substance which is a solvent or swelling agent for cellulose acetate may be usefully employed; those which we have found especially useful for the purpose comprise ammonium sulphate, ammonium thiocyanate, alcohol, and water. Y

- By way of example, goods which. have been badly delustred for example by boiling with water for one or two hours or exposure to moist steam for considerable time, may be treated in a solution of a swelling agent at a temperature preferably not exceeding about 3540 for about 1 hour to about 12 hours, after which the goods are removed and treat-- ed, with. or without rinsing with the hot or boiling solutions above reierred to in the manner hereinbefore described,

The followin example is given by way of illustration, it eing understood it is only illustrative and in no way limitative.

Example 4 Cellulose acetate artificialsilk in an form which has become badly delustred, or example through boiling with water for one or two hours, is soaked for about 12 hours in water at 20-32C. or a 5% ammonium sulphate solution in water at 20-30 C. or a 10% ammonium thiocyanate solution in water at 2030 C, or a 60% (by volume) solution of alcohol in water at .2030 C. After soaking, the goods are removed (rinsed if desired) and then boiled with a 1% to 4l% solution of ammonium sulphate, sodium sillphate or other neutral salt in water for about 1 to 5 hours or more according to the degree of more or less complete delustring to be 7 cured or the extent to which the lustre is to be restored. After boiling for the required length of time the goods may be removed and rinsed free of salt.

, The rapidity and degree of relustring of lustred cellulose acetate filaments in matethe cellulose acetate filaments in the present invention may be varied by varying any of the working conditions, e.' g. concentration of the solutions of the salts, sugar or other similarly acting relustring agents, duration of relustringtreatment and temperature of said treatment. Also when a pretreatment with solutions of solvents or swelling agents is employed, the concentration of the solutions of swelling agents, temperature and duration of this treatment or any of these ma be varied as required.

he resent invention affords valuable technical advantages in that it allows of restoring or imparting lustre to any desired degree to goods consisting of or containing cellulose acetate artificial silk which has become dulled or delustredas the result of various processes or treatments to which such goods are commonly submitted in industry, for example, dyeing, crping, scouring and so forth. Especially the invention' affords valuable technical advantages with regard to mixed yarns, fabrics or goods containing cellulose acetate artificial silk associated with wool or any other fibres. In many rocesses it is necessary to subject such mixe, goods to conditions which cause artial or entire delustring of the cellu ose acetate portion. Thus in dyeing the wool portion of a mixed yarn or fabric of cellulose acetate artificial silk and wool, it is necessary to subject the goods to the action of hot or boiling dyebaths, often for considerable time whereby the cellulose acetate portion of the goods becomes whol or I partially delustred. Again in crab ing and steaming mixed fabrics containing wool and cellulose acetate artificial silk, it is necessary to subject the fabric at the stretch to the action of boiling water and with moist steam respectively, which may cause the cellulose acetate portion of the goods to become wholly or partially delustred. The processes of thepresent invention enable the more or less delustred cellu-- lose acetate portion of such mixed goods to be relustred completely or to any desired degree.

It will be seen that the invention provides I means not only of restorin the lustre entirely or practically so to de ustred cellulose acetate filaments, etc. but also of restoring or imparting the lustre to any desired degree, which is ofadvantage in many technical as-- pects. For example it is thus possible to restore or impart the lustre to a modified degree resembling that of natural silk or other fibres or to any other desired degree for other s ecial efl'ects. The term impartin lustre, t erefore, is used in the claims to inc ude the tainable by this process.

various degrees of restoration of lustre ob- What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A process for imparting lustre to derials containing the same which comprises treating the material with an aqueous solution of 'a neutral salt.

2. A process for imparting lustre to delustred cellulose acetate filaments in materials containing the same which comprises treating the material with an aqueous soluti on of a neutral sulphate.- v I 3. A process for imparting lustre to delustred cellulose acetate filaments in mateials containing the same which comprises treating the material with an aqueous solution of ammonium sulphate.

4. A process for imparting lustre to delustred cellulose'acetate filaments in materials containing the same which comprises boiling the material with an aqueous solution of a neutral salt.

5. A process for imparting lustre to delustred cellulose acetate filaments in materials containing the same which comprises boiling the material with an aqueous solution of ammonium sulphate.

'6. A process for imparting lustre to delustred cellulose acetate filaments in materials containing the same which comprises treating the material with an aqueous solu-.

tion of a swelling agent for cellulose acetate and afterwards heating with an aqueous solution of a neutral salt.

7. A process for imparting lustre to delustred cellulose acetate filaments in materials containing the same which comprises treating the material at a temperature not exceeding about 35-40 C. with an aqueous solution of a swelling agent, and afterwards at a higher temperature with an aqueous solution of a neutral salt. 8. A process for imparting lustre to delustred cellulose acetate filaments in. materials containing the same which comprises treating the material at aboutordinary tem- A pera'tures with an aqueous solution of a thiocyanate and afterwards boiling with an aqueous solution of a neutral salt.

9. As new' products; materials comprising relustred filaments of cellulose acetate.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto 

